Audience votes and written critiques determine the three main prizes at altcineAction!, an online short film festival organised by altcine, the platform dedicated to Balkan cinema. Its competition covers fiction, documentary, animation and experimental work by emerging Balkan filmmakers. The prizes provide production and post-production services for the directors’ next films, alongside separate jury awards for cinematography and editing and the altcine team’s Alida Dimitriou Award.
The last edition is the fourth, labelled 2015–16: online screenings and voting run from 1 December 2015 to 15 January 2016, followed by closing events in Athens on 22–24 January 2016. Its Best Critic Award connects five audience reviewers with The 5C Project’s workshops and screenings across four Balkan cities.
Awards and prizes
2015–16 edition award scheme: Three main prizes are determined by audience votes and critiques and provide services for the winners’ next productions, including shooting equipment, colour correction, titles, DCP mastering, sound post-production, storyboarding or visual effects. Separate juries select Best Cinematography (a Zacuto gift certificate) and Best Editing (Avid Media Composer software). The altcine team selects the Alida Dimitriou Award, covering post-production for the winner’s next film. The Best Critic Award supports five reviewers’ participation in The 5C Project, with workshops and screenings in Athens, Split, Cetate and Tirana. The published regulations describe the prizes as non-monetary. These are the awards of the historical 2015–16 edition.
Festival rules
2015–16 edition regulations: Open to filmmakers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia (listed as FYROM), Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey who have directed no more than one feature film. Fiction, documentary, animation and experimental films are eligible. Films must be completed between January 2013 and December 2015, run no longer than 15 minutes and include English subtitles. Submissions are online, with a 480-minute total capacity and acceptance on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to the festival’s eligibility decision. The applicant must hold the necessary rights. Accepted films remain in the online archive unless the director or producer requests removal. Voting and English-language critiques are open worldwide. These are historical regulations for the 2015–16 edition.
